Cesc Fabregas is the name AC Milan have circled in red to take over as head coach, a report claims, but is he a good fit?
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan are currently thinking about ending the 2024-25 season with a shred of dignity and hiring a new sporting director to plan for the future. However, they will also be thinking about who should lead the team forward in the dugout.
Fabregas’ Como are turning heads with a brilliant 2025 so far, and he spoke in a press conference about the three qualities he looks for in a team: “Quality, personality and courage.” After the recent win over Napoli, he added: “You need humility and courage.”
Fabregas is a fan of shared knowledge, of information that circulates. He can call Roberto De Zerbi or Vincenzo Italiano to discuss things and, to those who ask to attend his training sessions, he opens the doors of the training ground.
The paper compares him with Arrigo Sacchi, a coach hired at 41 (Fabregas is 37), from a provincial club (Parma like Como), chosen for his ambitious attacking ideas. Of course, there are zero guarantees it goes the same way, and that is why Milan may need some ‘courage’ too.
How Como play
Fabregas is direct with the players and his Como use a 4-3-3, with principles of positional football, high aggression and zero fear of the big teams. This is perhaps the most interesting aspect.
Como won away against Atalanta, at home against Roma and Napoli, were 1-0 up against Atalanta in the return match, 1-0 up against Milan, 2-0 against Bologna and with two minutes to go it was 1-1 with Juventus.
The fact that it hasn’t won any of these four games indicates that the journey is obviously long, but the work is visible and the table after the victories in the last two games are serene: 13th place, +7 above the relegation zone.
The statistics, which can lie a little but don’t tell a parallel reality, say eighth place in Serie A for forward passes, 14th for chances created, ninth for touches in the opponent’s area.
The big issue
The main thing to consider is obviously timing, from both points o view. Does Fabregas have enough experience to coach with the pressure that surrounds Milan? Is it already time for the somersault from Como to Milan?
He only started coaching adults in November 2023, less than a year and a half ago therefore. On the other hand, he played for 15 years at Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea, won a World Cup, two European Championships, a Club World Cup, the Premier League (twice), LaLiga, the FA Cup and other minor silverware.
He has been in the dressing room with many greats, attended lessons from Wenger, Guardiola, Hiddink, Conte, Sarri, Del Bosque, Aragones. For that matter of shared knowledge, he has learned from the best, or some of the best.
“The most important thing is passion. In Como I found the ideal environment to consistently carry forward my idea of football,” Fabregas said. And a few days ago: “I signed a four-year contract with Como and I want to finish a project.”
He was answering a question about Roma but, until proven otherwise, the same applies to Milan.
Oh yes! The “gambles” really paid off with Brocchi, Gattuso, Inzaghi, Seedorf, Bonera etc. I mean, just count the trophies they won for us. 🙂
Im not saying that Milan should or shouldn’t hire Fabrigas nor i believe that he would leave ambitious Como to come into Milan’s mess, but all of those names you mentioned were ex players that never coached before they were appointed by Milan. Seedorf literally had to quit playing football mid season in Brazil to come and take over from Allegri.
Fabregas has already coached and coaching. Xabi Alonso never coached before and he won the title in Germany.
True on Seedorf, but Gattuso was a coach prior to Milan. He coached Palermo and Pisa in Italy at least.
Do you guys just make stuff up for effect?
Make stuff up for effect because you found 1 of the 5 names mentioned that coached for a cup of coffee in serie C.
Fabregas is actually coaching in serie A.
What about Inzaghi, Brocchi, Seedorf, Bonera? Where did they coach before Milan?
Fabregas is still a n00b. He’s in the same basket as the other gambles Milan had taken.
Also… Milan players give the finger to coaches such as Fonseca and Conceicao with ~a dozen trophies won. What makes you think a n00b from Como would make them play as a team and respect him? Because he manages to lead Como in to the 13th place???
Apart from Stefano Pioli, nothing worked in the last 18 years, and if you look at Pioli, he had a leader in the team (Zlatan) and a leader in the office (Maldini) and it paid off.
The problem is office, field and bench, none of them can work alone.
I’m afraid if this report has any substance to it, then ACM management are again trying to distract the fans with a solution to the club’s lack of success on the pitch that skirts the real problem, which is an owner that’s not able or willing to spend big money to bring in world-class players instead of a motley crew of has-beens and rejects.
Cesc Fabregas is a promising young coach, but if the owner doesn’t back him with the introduction of top players, he’ll end up in the same bad place at ACM as Fonseca and Conceicao. If I may adopt and adapt Arrigo Sacchi’s famous metaphorical insight, our club’s problem isn’t the jockey, but the owner who has given the jockey such a poor horse to ride.
ACM needs an owner who’s truly well-heeled and ambitious for success; who’s culturally sensitive and will assemble a team that has a strong Italian core; and respects the club’s traditional shirt colors and other iconic symbols.
All talk of yet another ‘revolution’ at ACM is just hot air until the club has an owner and management who are competent and put success on the pitch ahead of short-term financial profit. The current leadership is out of its depth and should get out.
If only another Berlusconi – a charismatic and truly rich man with the common touch – would come to ACM’s rescue.
Thanks for the memories, Silvio.
When you resort to lies, you lose credibility. The owners have invested big, spending more than many major clubs in the last 2 years, and Berlusconi, lest you forget, sold Kaka’, Shevchenko, Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and a whole host of stars once politics took over his life.
Do you even understand football???
Nothing he said is false. Not defending Redbird, but the money isn’t the issue. It’s non football people in decision making roles.
RedBird has spent a lot of money, but the players they’ve brought in are rejects and has-beens from other clubs. Please name one world class player they’ve bought. The best players in the world all go to Real Madrid, Man City, Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern, and PSG. We just pick up the crumbs.
In contrast, Berlusconi bought the best players in the world (e.g. Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, Kaka, Seedorf, Shevchenko). True, he also sold them, but that was after they had peaked and made a major contribution to ACM’s success.
Our current owner simply doesn’t have the deep pockets to attract or keep the best players. I want ACM to reach the very top again – that is, to win the Champions League – and I can’t see how we’re ever going to do that with this owner.
We’ve now gone 18 years without appearing in a Champions League final. During this period, Real Madrid have won that trophy multiple times.
👏👏👏
No more gambles.
This management gambles left Milan in shambles
Yeah lol
De Zerbi or Francesco Farioli. Probably too late for Farioli already. Missing the boat, as we did with Enzo Maresca, to hire talented up and coming Italian coaches.
The biggest problem in Milan is owner and management not coach, if we are hiring Klopp or Pep the problem is still same every year
I totally agree; you’ve hit the nail on the head.
I’d rather get De Zerbi.
I, too, prefer we hire De Zerbi – a talented Italian coach with international experience and an ACM pedigree. But I reiterate: until the current owner and his management team get out, it won’t matter who is ACM’s next coach: he’ll meet the same fate as Fonseca and Conceicao. De Zerbi will produce a small, incremental improvement, but not the giant leap required to restore ACM to the top.
Maldini – a club legend who helped put together a scudetto winning team that reached a Champions League semi-final – was correct when he told the owner that for ACM to take the next step and rise to the level where it could compete against the likes of Real Madrid, Man City, and Liverpool and win Europe’s premier competition, he had to dig deep into his pockets and strengthen the team.
Instead of acting on Maldini’s advice, however, the owner sacked him – a terrible own goal. Since then, ACM has experienced a steady decline in form and results which culminated in the implosion that we witnessed the last couple of weeks.
I can see no way back for ACM to the glory days of the past with the present owner – who is totally responsible for this disaster – still in charge of the club. Redbird has to make way for a new owner that has the money, football nous, management skills, and wisdom to restore ACM to greatness.
Maldini has to play a major role in ACM’s renewal. He was instrumental in building a good team once, and can do it again. He’s the competent and classy figure – the embodiment of ACM – who more than anyone else can help usher in a new Golden Age.
Bring back the goat Maldini
Get De zerbi
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